Wow just wow, I am really surprised that Tower District Travails has been as well accepted as it has. Had no idea! Glad people are enjoying it.
I enjoyed it, very well done! It will be interesting to see how it's interpreted regarding the "original IP" rule. There's a lot of room for interpretation on that one.
celantraMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Silverstars, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 465
edited August 2013
True enough. It concerned me as well. That being said, there is still a pretty well developed story that has absolutely nothing to do with the parody aspect of the quest. As it was included in the list I figured that the judges had already made a determination as to if it were eligible. Either way this was fun and I enjoyed the experience.
0
agentjasporMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, SilverstarsPosts: 0Arc User
edited August 2013
Current results:
Title
Short Code
Adjusted Rating
Reviews
Total Plays
Tower District Travails
NW-DE8A3L2BE
4.19
713
1385
A Strange Merchant
NW-DAK2BFO2X
4.0
1852
4015
A Dwarven Rebellion
NW-DD4MQBRFI
3.91
96
131
Cloak Tower: Cult of the Dragon
NW-DEOLOEN6F
3.81
126
210
Undercover Brother
NW-DCD6OI9JE
3.81
110
165
A Parlor of Spiders
NW-DGSSZQU34
3.71
51
107
Laboratory of the Mad Psion
NW-DIE8OOAWK
3.21
17
22
SOME LIKE IT HOT!
NW-DL27DBQDC
2.49
13
24
Devout Orcs
NW-DQPVUECC7
2.13
14
16
Old Magic
NW-DGBLCWRFP
2.01
11
16
A few observations:
The number of plays and review comments on several of the highly ranked ones does indicate a pretty good number of players are interested and participating in playing the contest entries.
On the flip side, the quests towards the bottom of the list have gotten very few plays. So there's definitely room for improvement as far as how the contest advertises its quests.
It will be interesting to see how the "guidelines" are enforced or considered. At least one has absolutely nothing to do with the Tower District, several come in under the recommended 30-45 minute length mark, and the always open to interpretation "original IP" rule could come into play as well.
Similarly, should long-standing existing quests with built up plays and reviews be eligible? It doesn't look like that one is going to win this time, but what kind of precedent does it set for the next contest?
The number of plays and review comments on several of the highly ranked ones does indicate a pretty good number of players are interested and participating in playing the contest entries.
On the flip side, the quests towards the bottom of the list have gotten very few plays. So there's definitely room for improvement as far as how the contest advertises its quests.
It will be interesting to see how the "guidelines" are enforced or considered. At least one has absolutely nothing to do with the Tower District, several come in under the recommended 30-45 minute length mark, and the always open to interpretation "original IP" rule could come into play as well.
Similarly, should long-standing existing quests with built up plays and reviews be eligible? It doesn't look like that one is going to win this time, but what kind of precedent does it set for the next contest?
Cheers for the table. Looks like it's a pretty casual contest, maybe just to promote the foundry a bit. Can't belive I'm so high. had only 20 plays at the start.
Some of those on the low end couldn't be completed, so it isn't just that they aren't being advertised well enough.
Aye - the travails of trying to exceed the Foundry's limitations is often fraught with intermittent failures of workarounds. :-(
Hopefully after Module1 releases they'll get some of our requests implemented. At least the 3d edit mode will really, really help lessen some of the pains we currently experience.
Aye, though I did get yours completed second time around eldarth. I doubt the play count picked up in time, but hopefully this last day of voting will at least get you to 'Daily' status
0
celantraMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Silverstars, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 465
edited August 2013
I thought the spotlight winner was to be announced today, and instead there is a different spotlight entirely announced! What does this mean?
0
agentjasporMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, SilverstarsPosts: 0Arc User
edited August 2013
Unofficial final results. No real surprises as there wasn't a lot of change along the way. Once the top ones were established, they stayed where they were.
Title
Short Code
Adjusted Rating
Reviews
Total Plays
Tower District Travails
NW-DE8A3L2BE
4.2
811
1593
A Strange Merchant
NW-DAK2BFO2X
4.0
1856
4032
A Dwarven Rebellion
NW-DD4MQBRFI
3.89
100
139
Cloak Tower: Cult of the Dragon
NW-DEOLOEN6F
3.87
146
244
Undercover Brother
NW-DCD6OI9JE
3.83
116
175
A Parlor of Spiders
NW-DGSSZQU34
3.67
52
108
Laboratory of the Mad Psion
NW-DIE8OOAWK
3.23
18
23
SOME LIKE IT HOT!
NW-DL27DBQDC
2.41
14
25
Devout Orcs
NW-DQPVUECC7
2.13
14
16
Old Magic
NW-DGBLCWRFP
2.01
11
16
I'll be the first to offer tentative congrats to Celantra for taking the prize!
I thought the spotlight winner was to be announced today, and instead there is a different spotlight entirely announced! What does this mean?
Well, it looks like they're now doing some pretty cool "trailer" videos for the quests getting the spotlight, so my guess is those videos have some lead time that would require a bit more advance notice as to what the quest will be. So the winner will likely be featured next week I would guess.
That, or they're checking the fine print on the rules and recounting the ballots. ;P
Aye, though I did get yours completed second time around eldarth. I doubt the play count picked up in time, but hopefully this last day of voting will at least get you to 'Daily' status
What is the requirement for Daily status? Are these (and other?) requirements listed somewhere?
Edit: *facepalm* Nevermind, it's right in the (*cough* Community generated *cough*) FAQ
celantraMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Silverstars, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 465
edited August 2013
Oh... I was just going off of what was said in the opening post and the News page. That the winner would be announced Aug 6th. Guess the day is not over yet. At any rate win or lose I think we all did an amazing job on our quests.
celantraMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Silverstars, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 465
edited August 2013
Thanks for the update Som.
0
agentjasporMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, SilverstarsPosts: 0Arc User
edited August 2013
Not to seem like a downer, but if "Super Neverwinter Bros." wasn't eligible for the previous contest because of the whole "original IP" thing, it would seem kind of inconsistent to allow "Tower District Travails" to remain eligible.
And, although not eligible for the contest because of IP restrictions, you may want to check out the epic saga involving King Kebular, Nario, Suigi, and Princess Seach:
Author: @bobcat1313
Quest: Super Neverwinter Bros.
Short Code: NW-XMFU8AMU4
Not to seem like a downer, but if "Super Neverwinter Bros." wasn't eligible for the previous contest because of the whole "original IP" thing, it would seem kind of inconsistent to allow "Tower District Travails" to remain eligible.
Well, there are no IP restrictions on 'The Wizard of Oz' - it is in the public domain. Plus, despite borrowing from the story (and it is said that there are only 7 story plots in literature, which means someone else already got to yours before you did), Tower District Travails is clearly an original work in its own right.
It's a bit mean on the last 24 hours of voting to be bringing this up, not once but twice. I don't think you'd feel good about yourself if an incredible piece of artistry was disqualified from the contest at the 11th hour.
0
celantraMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Silverstars, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 465
edited August 2013
In an effort to keep things friendly I am not going to respond at this time.
0
agentjasporMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, SilverstarsPosts: 0Arc User
Well, there are no IP restrictions on 'The Wizard of Oz' - it is in the public domain. Plus, despite borrowing from the story (and it is said that there are only 7 story plots in literature, which means someone else already got to yours before you did), Tower District Travails is clearly an original work in its own right.
It's a bit mean on the last 24 hours of voting to be bringing this up, not once but twice. I don't think you'd feel good about yourself if an incredible piece of artistry was disqualified from the contest at the 11th hour.
I actually originally mentioned this two days ago, not during the 11th hour. And Celantra even conceded that it was something he was worried about. And I've already congratulated Celantra on a well deserved win. The only reason I brought it up again was because I was curious about what Som meant when he said "winners," plural, so I searched for the previous contest posts and found the part I quoted. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to be fair.
Along the same lines, "A Strange Merchant" had 3922 plays before the contest started, and an adjusted rating of 4.0, which didn't change at all during its subsequent 110 plays during the actual contest period. Crok brought this up at the beginning, and Som said, "The rankings will be based on adjusted rating, so hopefully this will even out over the week. If not, we'll assess it again at that time and make sure everything gets a fair shake." So if they award that quest 2nd place, what's to stop future contests from being won by long existing and well established quests that just so happen to fit the theme of the contest? And surely some of the quests here have a higher average rating of 4.0, but their adjusted ratings simply haven't gotten that high yet due to lack of plays. Again, I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to be fair.
Says "yesterday" on my screen. That's time zones for you.
And the 11th hour was not relating to your posts, but the hypothetical situation of Celantra's work being disqualified. But still it took you the best part of a week to bring it up and then only when it was clear that Celantra's quest was leaps and bounds ahead in terms of plays and popularity.
At least that is something no one can take away from him.
0
agentjasporMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, SilverstarsPosts: 0Arc User
edited August 2013
I'm not trying to take anything away from him, and I'm positive he's going to be declared the winner. All I'm saying is that the whole "original IP" thing is very wide open to interpretation. And I've been saying this for months now, it's nothing new, go look at my post history. There's a new thread asking about it every week it seems.
As far as the timing is concerned, that just so happened to be when I got a chance to play it myself and realized it could approach this blurry original IP line. Celantra didn't have a problem with me bringing it up then, so I don't know why you have such a problem with it now. :P
celantraMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Silverstars, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 465
edited August 2013
Lets let it lie for now, Cryptic will do what they do.
I made the quest knowing that there was a possibility that it would be disqualified. That being said I would have expected that determination to have been made before it was included in the judging. To be disqualified at this late date would be disappointing, but it is what it is.
I have had a very successful quest that is currently ranked better then all of the current featured quests, and is on the best page, if currently at the bottom. It was created and judged during the contest timeframe, and I am particularly proud of this fact, as I started almost a week late in development. If it were not for the extension granted due to the foundry outages it might not have been finished, but it was pretty close to done on time regardless. I have purposely not posted updates to the quest although there are some things that I will fix in the future. That being said, I can only thank my friends, and subscribers for its success. I do want to note that I did receive a large number of 1 stars that did not leave comments, but this kind of activity is to be expected with any popular quest.
I never meant to make a parody to begin with. I had the idea for miniature orcs as a dichotomy as the basis for a storyline, and the rest just kinda grew out of that. When I started travelling down the OZ path, my kids hopped in with the ideas for the different companion characters. My wife had some ideas about how best to do some of the miniatures and Paohz. My natural storyteller filled in the blanks from the initial meeting of the companions and the storylines for the Red Wizards, the Illithid and the Spiders, and of course the storyline of Paohz where he came from, what his motivations and discoveries were, and how the whole thing wraps up in under a half hour lol. Overall it has been a great experience that brought my whole family together, and so regardless of what Cryptic says it wins in my book.
Comments
I had a lot of fun running your quest earlier
I'm pretty happy I've at least gotten out of the hidden 5 review ceiling!
Encounter Matrix | Advanced Foundry Topics
I just pm'd you about a problem I came across.
Thank you. It's always nice to hear that people have enjoyed something you spent time creating.
I enjoyed it, very well done! It will be interesting to see how it's interpreted regarding the "original IP" rule. There's a lot of room for interpretation on that one.
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
Title
Short Code
Adjusted Rating
Reviews
Total Plays
Tower District Travails
NW-DE8A3L2BE
4.19
713
1385
A Strange Merchant
NW-DAK2BFO2X
4.0
1852
4015
A Dwarven Rebellion
NW-DD4MQBRFI
3.91
96
131
Cloak Tower: Cult of the Dragon
NW-DEOLOEN6F
3.81
126
210
Undercover Brother
NW-DCD6OI9JE
3.81
110
165
A Parlor of Spiders
NW-DGSSZQU34
3.71
51
107
Laboratory of the Mad Psion
NW-DIE8OOAWK
3.21
17
22
SOME LIKE IT HOT!
NW-DL27DBQDC
2.49
13
24
Devout Orcs
NW-DQPVUECC7
2.13
14
16
Old Magic
NW-DGBLCWRFP
2.01
11
16
A few observations:
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
Cheers for the table. Looks like it's a pretty casual contest, maybe just to promote the foundry a bit. Can't belive I'm so high. had only 20 plays at the start.
Aye - the travails of trying to exceed the Foundry's limitations is often fraught with intermittent failures of workarounds. :-(
Hopefully after Module1 releases they'll get some of our requests implemented. At least the 3d edit mode will really, really help lessen some of the pains we currently experience.
Encounter Matrix | Advanced Foundry Topics
Title
Short Code
Adjusted Rating
Reviews
Total Plays
Tower District Travails
NW-DE8A3L2BE
4.2
811
1593
A Strange Merchant
NW-DAK2BFO2X
4.0
1856
4032
A Dwarven Rebellion
NW-DD4MQBRFI
3.89
100
139
Cloak Tower: Cult of the Dragon
NW-DEOLOEN6F
3.87
146
244
Undercover Brother
NW-DCD6OI9JE
3.83
116
175
A Parlor of Spiders
NW-DGSSZQU34
3.67
52
108
Laboratory of the Mad Psion
NW-DIE8OOAWK
3.23
18
23
SOME LIKE IT HOT!
NW-DL27DBQDC
2.41
14
25
Devout Orcs
NW-DQPVUECC7
2.13
14
16
Old Magic
NW-DGBLCWRFP
2.01
11
16
I'll be the first to offer tentative congrats to Celantra for taking the prize!
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
Well, it looks like they're now doing some pretty cool "trailer" videos for the quests getting the spotlight, so my guess is those videos have some lead time that would require a bit more advance notice as to what the quest will be. So the winner will likely be featured next week I would guess.
That, or they're checking the fine print on the rules and recounting the ballots. ;P
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
I assumed the contest winner(s) would be separate from the weekly spotlight anyway. Has not that been the case in the past?
Edit: There are no new Spotlights up yet today. As jaspor says, the trailer on the home page is for a spotlight first featured a while ago.
What is the requirement for Daily status? Are these (and other?) requirements listed somewhere?
Edit: *facepalm* Nevermind, it's right in the (*cough* Community generated *cough*) FAQ
Encounter Matrix | Advanced Foundry Topics
Woohoo! Hrmmm, "winners," plural... Interesting..
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
Well, there are no IP restrictions on 'The Wizard of Oz' - it is in the public domain. Plus, despite borrowing from the story (and it is said that there are only 7 story plots in literature, which means someone else already got to yours before you did), Tower District Travails is clearly an original work in its own right.
It's a bit mean on the last 24 hours of voting to be bringing this up, not once but twice. I don't think you'd feel good about yourself if an incredible piece of artistry was disqualified from the contest at the 11th hour.
I actually originally mentioned this two days ago, not during the 11th hour. And Celantra even conceded that it was something he was worried about. And I've already congratulated Celantra on a well deserved win. The only reason I brought it up again was because I was curious about what Som meant when he said "winners," plural, so I searched for the previous contest posts and found the part I quoted. I'm not trying to be mean. I'm trying to be fair.
Along the same lines, "A Strange Merchant" had 3922 plays before the contest started, and an adjusted rating of 4.0, which didn't change at all during its subsequent 110 plays during the actual contest period. Crok brought this up at the beginning, and Som said, "The rankings will be based on adjusted rating, so hopefully this will even out over the week. If not, we'll assess it again at that time and make sure everything gets a fair shake." So if they award that quest 2nd place, what's to stop future contests from being won by long existing and well established quests that just so happen to fit the theme of the contest? And surely some of the quests here have a higher average rating of 4.0, but their adjusted ratings simply haven't gotten that high yet due to lack of plays. Again, I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to be fair.
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
And the 11th hour was not relating to your posts, but the hypothetical situation of Celantra's work being disqualified. But still it took you the best part of a week to bring it up and then only when it was clear that Celantra's quest was leaps and bounds ahead in terms of plays and popularity.
At least that is something no one can take away from him.
As far as the timing is concerned, that just so happened to be when I got a chance to play it myself and realized it could approach this blurry original IP line. Celantra didn't have a problem with me bringing it up then, so I don't know why you have such a problem with it now. :P
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
There ya go, problem solved. I had no idea Wizard of Oz was considered that, my bad!
The Crystal Relics - NWS-DMXNCNAVJ
Tower District Contest Entry: Undercover Brother - NW-DCD6OI9JE
I made the quest knowing that there was a possibility that it would be disqualified. That being said I would have expected that determination to have been made before it was included in the judging. To be disqualified at this late date would be disappointing, but it is what it is.
I have had a very successful quest that is currently ranked better then all of the current featured quests, and is on the best page, if currently at the bottom. It was created and judged during the contest timeframe, and I am particularly proud of this fact, as I started almost a week late in development. If it were not for the extension granted due to the foundry outages it might not have been finished, but it was pretty close to done on time regardless. I have purposely not posted updates to the quest although there are some things that I will fix in the future. That being said, I can only thank my friends, and subscribers for its success. I do want to note that I did receive a large number of 1 stars that did not leave comments, but this kind of activity is to be expected with any popular quest.
I never meant to make a parody to begin with. I had the idea for miniature orcs as a dichotomy as the basis for a storyline, and the rest just kinda grew out of that. When I started travelling down the OZ path, my kids hopped in with the ideas for the different companion characters. My wife had some ideas about how best to do some of the miniatures and Paohz. My natural storyteller filled in the blanks from the initial meeting of the companions and the storylines for the Red Wizards, the Illithid and the Spiders, and of course the storyline of Paohz where he came from, what his motivations and discoveries were, and how the whole thing wraps up in under a half hour lol. Overall it has been a great experience that brought my whole family together, and so regardless of what Cryptic says it wins in my book.